25 November 2011

hi, sweetie


We all know about the sugars.
Some Bloggers know more about Nutrition 
than many Nurses! Good on us.

Sucrose, Glucose, Fructose, Lactose, Maltose, etc.



Dextrose, is actually Glucose.
MaltoDextrin, is a sugar made from a starch. 
And of course, so is High Fructose Corn Syrup.



Most of us are pretty good by now about avoiding extra table sugars.
Maybe even avoiding some of the super starches.
Maybe even the cakes and the pies.
The usual suspects.

We all know by now, we also know that it's not JUST about calories.
We need Protein, Fats, and some Carbs.
Carbs are sugars and starches.
But what is not USED, gets stored as fat.
Aye- there's the rub. Literally!

(That's Mom... be nice!)

Let's talk about Fructose.
We've been told that FRUITS (fructose)
Are FREE - have as much as you want!
They are Nature's Candy.
And they are GOOD for you.
Here - have some more.
Grab 30 bananas a day if ya want.

Well, that's sad.
And misleading. 


Fructose is a sugar that can not be used by cells in the body.

Glucose can be used... without much conversion.
Glucose is a mono-saccharide. One molecule. 
Fructose is also a mono-saccharide. But a foreign one to our body.

Sucrose - is one molecule of glucose and one of fructose.
So it takes a little conversion.

And by the time the Scientists and Wall Street People
reach a peaceful, mutual decision about it.... (lol)
Well, maybe it's good to know a little bit more about it. 

Fructose has to be changed - by the liver - before it can be used!
And the conversion is not always pretty - or complete.  Fructose that is not used will be converted to triglycerides!
And stored. And the liver that is already burdened 

With years of digesting junk - well, even a 
Healthy Liver can have a hard time with fructose.

And that is why Fructose often has very little to do 
with the glycemic load, or index.
And here we are only talking about the LIVER side
of Fructose... Much less, the PANCREAS side of the story!
We have not even touched on Insulin, and Leptin, etc.
Perhaps finally understanding Fructose
is a missing link in our information chain?

Fructose in large amounts, is not something that is friendly 
to your body!
Our mouth might want something sweet. 
And some fruit is not a bad thing!

But it CAN wreck havoc on your diet plans!

Now, they say in Paleo circles that
50 grams of Fructose is max.
Alot of people get alot more than that.

This is one large apple.
Look at the Fructose levels.
One gram is 1,000 mg.
So this is a little more than 13 grams per apple!
PLUS some of the Sucrose!

Compare that to a cup of Blackberries!
3 or 4 grams. Per Cup!
Atkins loved berries!


Here's some honey.
Some people think it is a good sugar sub
because it is "natural"

Really? Maybe not!

This is not just info for LoCarbers;
in fact Fructose is largely a non-issue for us.
But alot of people think they are safe with the fruits.

Two or three years later.... few if any fatty acids.....
and overloads of fructose....
Are you starting to see a bigger picture?
I know I am!

13 comments:

  1. Very well said! Too true-I think it was weight watchers that made fruit free in their plus plan? That surprised me-ALOT. And when my parents lament their plateau, I want to scream at them not to eat so much damn fruit! Oh well.

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  2. I always wondered how or why WW lets fruits be zero points. Considering I never did the research I never felt I was "educated" on the subject matter but always made sure to watch my fruit intake because of the sugars anyway. I think a lot of us looking to lose weight don't realize the size of the fruits we are eating matter as well. What many of us think of as one banana is often times 1.5-2 times the size of a "serving"... great post as usual anne!

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  3. One of the things that helped me the most about fruit was when the paleo folks started calling it Nature's Candy. Somehow that stuck with me, and now I am automatically careful with it.

    And to think, I was once on the "eat 2 or 3 apples a day to lose weight" diet. Yeah... right.

    A super informative post... good job, as usual!

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  4. I love the pic of your mom! I used to have some pancakes with my syrup when I was a kid! ;-)

    As you know, Anne, I am not a low carb eater but I do eat clean & eat mostly veggies vs. rice, pasta & such.. not even a fan of pasta & rice even if it is brown....

    I eat fruit & like it but I don't live on it. I recall a cousin of mine that LOVED fruit when she was young.. ate & ate it! Yes, she ate the wrong food too but she ate way too much fruit as well. Actually, anything whether good or bad that we eat too many calories worth will put weight on. Ya can't out train overeating! ;-)

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  5. On 4HB, I haven't had any fruit for almost 9 months. Until now, on vacation. It is hard to resist the little apple bananas, and the papaya. OMG, is the papaya good. But I do try to limit the damage. One banana in a protein shake, or one piece of papaya. Eat macadamia nuts instead!

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  6. You hit the nail on the head with this and I believe this is why so many people are failing on the new WW plan. I was taught low carb and low sugar and fruit from day one of my surgery process. When I stick to the plan, I don't have issues with regaining. In fact, I can lose quickly still when I do what I was told to do. I need to get that sweet tooth of mine under control again,

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  7. This makes me so glad I don't really care for fruit. Thanks for the Fructose 101 class, Anne

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  8. Maybe it is in WW's best interest to induce a "slow fail" into the mix!
    I'm surprised you didn't mention that! You are much nicer than I am.
    This makes me mad... why is this not common knowledge?
    I mean, other than to people who know, right?!
    Tell it, Carb Tripper!

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  9. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving... I'm thankful for your awesome comments and all of the great info that you introduce to your blog friends... It's much appreciated!

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  10. I cut back on fruit, but not out. It really is one of those things that is not negotiable. I can give up table sugar, HFCS, candies, cakes, pies. I won't give up fruit. quality of life thing for me. Fruit is my dessert. :D

    Because I was pre-diabetic, I definitely would be wise to watch sugar intake, regardless of the source, but of course, those refined superbad sources can't compare with the added nutrients in fruit. If one is gonna hve a sugar fix, choose the raspberries, the pear, the apple, the oranges over the cupcakes, cookies, pies, sodas. Nature/God gave fruit good stuff along with those sugars. :D

    And 1 gram of fructose in an apple...well, that means Paleo peops can have 50 apples? ; )

    I hope your working holiday had sweet moments --fructose free sweetness. Hugs and happy weekend.

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  11. Oh, and I also saw this pitfall in the WW plan back when it chaged. Nuts. Food addicts--like recovering me--we can eat 15 fruits a day. Heck, a dozen in one sitting. No problem.

    WW shouldn't make anything other than non-starchy veggies "free" food. That's it. And water. Snarf. The traditional "free" diet foods. Everything else should count.

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  12. Where do my comments keep disappearing to? Grrr!

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